Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Every fire and flood the Red Cross is on the scene. The President lauds their work. My United Way contribution goes to them every year.

THE
PRESIDENT: First of all, I want to thank Gail and Charlie who are on
the scene doing work every time we have a disaster here in the United
States of America. But obviously, the Red Cross is doing outstanding
work internationally,
so we want to thank them for their outstanding work.

A few things that I want to
emphasize to the public at the top. This storm is not yet over. We’ve
gotten briefings from the National Hurricane Center. It is still moving
north. There are still communities that could be affected.
And so I want to emphasize there are still risks of flooding, there are
still risks of down power lines, risks of high winds. And so it is
very important for the public to continue to monitor the situation in
your local community, listen to your state and
local officials, follow instructions. The more you follow
instructions, the easier it is for our first responders to make sure
that they are dealing with true emergency situations. So the better
prepared individual families are for the situation, the easier
it is going to be for us to deal with it.

Next, obviously, I want to talk
about the extraordinary hardship that we’ve seen over the last 48
hours. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who have
lost loved ones. Unfortunately, there have been fatalities as a
consequence of Hurricane Sandy, and it’s not clear that we’ve counted
up all the fatalities at this point. And obviously, this is something
that is heartbreaking for the entire nation. And we certainly feel
profoundly for all the families whose lives have
been upended and are going to be going through some very tough times
over the next several days and perhaps several weeks and months.

The most important message I have
for them is that America is with you. We are standing behind you, and
we are going to do everything we can to help you get back on your feet.

Earlier today I had a
conversation with the governors and many of the mayors in the affected
areas, including Governor Christie, Governor Cuomo, and Mayor
Bloomberg. I want to praise them for the extraordinary work that they
have
done. Sadly, we are getting more experience with these kinds of big
impact storms along the East Coast, and the preparation shows. Were it
not for the outstanding work that they and their teams have already done
and will continue to do in the affected regions,
we could have seen more deaths and more property damage. So they have
done extraordinary work working around the clock. The coordination
between the state, local, and federal governments has been outstanding.

Obviously, we’re now moving into
the recovery phase in a lot of the most severely affected areas. New
Jersey, New York in particular have been pounded by this storm.
Connecticut has taken a big hit. Because of some of the work that
had been done ahead of time, we’ve been able to get over a thousand
FEMA officials in place, pre-positioned. We’ve been able to get
supplies, food, medicine, water, emergency generators to ensure that
hospitals and law enforcement offices are able to stay
up and running as they are out there responding.

We are going
to continue to push as hard as we can to make sure that power is up
throughout the region. And obviously, this is mostly a local
responsibility, and the private utilities are going to have to lean
forward, but we are doing everything we can to provide them additional
resources so that we can expedite getting power up and running in many
of these communities.

There are
places like Newark, New Jersey, for example, where you’ve got 80, 90
percent of the people without power. We can't have a situation where
that lasts for days on end. And so my instructions to the federal
agency has been, do not figure out why we can't do something; I want
you to figure out how we do something. I want you to cut through red
tape. I want you to cut through bureaucracy. There’s no excuse for
inaction at this point. I want every agency to
lean forward and to make sure that we are getting the resources where
they need -- where they're needed as quickly as possible.

So I want to
repeat -- my message to the federal government: No bureaucracy, no red
tape. Get resources where they're needed as fast as possible, as hard
as possible, and for the duration, because the recovery
process obviously in a place like New Jersey is going to take a
significant amount of time. The recovery process in a lower Manhattan
is going to take a lot of time.

And part of
what we’re trying to do here is also to see where are some resources
that can be brought to bear that maybe traditionally are not used in
these kind of disaster situations. For example, there may be
military assets that allow us to help move equipment to ensure that
pumping and getting the flooding out of New York subway systems can
proceed more quickly. There may be resources that we can bring to bear
to help some of the private utilities get their
personnel and their equipment in place more swiftly so that we can get
power up and running as soon as possible.

So my
message to the governors and the mayors and, through them, to the
communities that have been hit so hard is that we are going to do
everything we can to get resources to you and make sure that any unmet
need
that is identified, we are responding to it as quickly as possible.
And I told the mayors and the governors if they're getting no for an
answer somewhere in the federal government, they can call me personally
at the White House.

Now,
obviously, the state, local, federal response is important, but what we
do as a community, what we do as neighbors and as fellow citizens is
equally important. So a couple of things that I want the public
to know they can do.

First of
all, because our local law enforcement, our first responders are being
swamped, to the extent that everybody can be out there looking out for
their neighbors, especially older folks, I think that's really
important. If you’ve got a neighbor nearby, you’re not sure how
they're handling a power outage, flooding, et cetera, go over, visit
them, knock on their door, make sure that they're doing okay. That can
make a big difference. The public can be the eyes
and ears in terms of identifying unmet needs.

Second
thing, the reason we’re here is because the Red Cross knows what it’s
doing when it comes to emergency response. And so for people all across
the country who have not been affected, now is the time to show
the kind of generosity that makes America the greatest nation on
Earth. And a good place to express that generosity is by contributing
to the Red Cross.

Obviously,
you can go on their website. The Red Cross knows what they're doing.
They're in close contact with federal, state, and local officials. They
will make sure that we get the resources to those families
as swiftly as possible. And again, I want to thank everybody here who
is doing such a great job when it comes to the disaster response.

The final
message I’d just say is during the darkness of the storm, I think we
also saw what’s brightest in America. I think all of us obviously have
been shocked by the force of Mother Nature as we watch it on
television. At the same time, we’ve also seen nurses at NYU Hospital
carrying fragile newborns to safety. We’ve seen incredibly brave
firefighters in Queens, waist-deep in water, battling infernos and
rescuing people in boats.

One of my
favorite stories is down in North Carolina, the Coast Guard going out to
save a sinking ship. They sent a rescue swimmer out, and the rescue
swimmer said, “Hi, I’m Dan. I understand you guys need a ride.”
That kind of spirit of resilience and strength, but most importantly
looking out for one another, that's why we always bounce back from these
kinds of disasters.

This is a
tough time for a lot of people -- millions of folks all across the
Eastern Seaboard. But America is tougher, and we’re tougher because we
pull together. We leave nobody behind. We make sure that we
respond as a nation and remind ourselves that whenever an American is
in need, all of us stand together to make sure that we’re providing the
help that's necessary.

So I just
want to thank the incredible response that we’ve already seen, but I do
want to remind people this is going to take some time. It is not going
to be easy for a lot of these communities to recovery swiftly,
and so it’s going to be important that we sustain that spirit of
resilience, that we continue to be good neighbors for the duration until
everybody is back on their feet.

Vote in the poll on the sidebar. Remember the question is who do you think will win not who you are voting for.

Like many people I dismissed Gene Stilp's chances in the Democratic primary against Bill Vinsko. He is known as the guy with the big pig and other stunts and I didn't take him seriously. Then I talked to him for an hour at the Spring Blogfest and found out that he came close to winning a state house seat in the very Republican year of 2010.

The conventional wisdom holds that Gene doesn’t have a prayer against
Republican incumbent, Lou Barletta, but conventional wisdom may not
apply to Gene Stilp.Gene will be running in the 11th Congressional district, newly
configured to ensure Barletta’s reelection. The Republican power brokers
who drew that map certainly anticipated that Barletta would be running
against a conventional Democrat, but Gene is anything but a conventional
Democrat.Gene appeals to voters across party lines. He has established a solid
reputation as a reformer bent on improving government, holding
officeholder accountable for their actions and fearlessly exposing
corruption....Barletta is practically unknown in the Dauphin/Cumberland/Perry part of
the 11th, and many people question his understanding of the politics,
the culture or the needs of their communities...Incidentally, the registered voters in the new 11th are 44% GOP, 43% DEM and 12% IND.Gene has HUGE appeal with the IND voters, and GOP voters below Luzerne County.

In an interview Barletta didn't sound like he likes his new job.Among the many criticisms leveled by citizens at Congress is that
bipartisanship has caused stalemate in the House and Senate. The popular
opinion is that much is said and discussed by the legislators but
little comes of it."I'm just as frustrated as the average citizen with the gridlock," Barletta said.The
first-term congressman said he's sought for and found opportunities to
find common ground among both Republicans and Democrats, even bucking
party leadership on at least one occasion.He found a Democrat to
co-sponsor transportation legislation and sought Democrats' support to
revamp relief funding in the wake of a presidentially declared natural
disaster...."For me, that's dysfunctional. It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or
Republican, we still have a responsibility to do the business of the
American people," he says. "You can have disagreements with these bills,
but I believe all the Senate should have the opportunity to vote on it,
debate it, send it back to the House and maybe we could amend it. We
could see where there's common ground."

"Due to weather concerns, WVIA has cancelled the
10th congressional district debate that was to be held Tuesday, October
30. Efforts by WVIA to re-schedule the debate await Congressman Tom
Marino's availability as he attends to constituent service through the
storm."

Due
to the weather we are rescheduling the Mundy /Cartwright rally to
Friday Nov 2, 5-7pm West Wyoming Hose Company #1 Shoemaker Ave. Now you
can join us for a tailgate party before all the high school football
games! Boyer's Catering will be putting on a delicious spread, beer and
soda, the event is free. Bring a friend!

Kaufer event a go

I will be hosting an event at Marianacci's
Restaurant tonight in West Wyoming from 6-8 tonight. The event is FREE. Anybody
looking for a chance to get out of their house or enjoy some good pizza
and good company, please feel free to swing by Marianacci's, especially
if you have lost your power and are looking for a bite to eat. Be safe
everyone and hope to see you there!

Monday, October 29, 2012

I told them I'm a 65 year old Republican Evangelical Christian that attends church 14 times a week that voted for McCain in 2008 but will now vote for President Obama because he is doing a good job on the economy. I bet that is discounted in their screening. This is not a real poll but a phishing operation so they can hit you up for money in the next few days.

This may the best prepared we have been for a storm. I spent the last few hours going up and down the street cleaning the storm drains of leaves and other debris. Checked the sump pumps at our mother's houses and charged every electronic device we own. The portable TV and DVD players can be used as a source of light if we lose power. I bought batteries for the flashlights and radio on Saturday and stocked up adult on beverages. Mrs. G has a big collection of candles if needed. We filled a bunch of buckets with water and have plenty of bottled water to drink.

I also gathered all the coolers we have and filled the freezers with ice.

I hope it's all for naught but I fear this kind of thing will become more frequent as the earth keeps warming. Looking at getting a generator after the rush subsides.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Matt Cartwright has an amusing spot that most guys can relate to.
.
“Here at home, I have certain responsibilities. Like taking out the trash. In Congress, I’ll take out tax loopholes for millionaires and big corporations. At home, I cut the lawn. In Congress, I’ll help cut taxes for child care and senior care, but I’ll never cut benefits for our veterans.”
.
The Honey Do list is on the side of my fridge.
.

Something screwy is going on with the polls on the sidebar. Every time I refresh the page the number of votes casts decreases. So I deleted them and put them up again. I hope that fixes the problem, we will see.

So vote again folks.

The question is who do you think will win the election not who you are
voting for.

We start off with the national and statewide elections.

Will President Obama be reelected or will mittmentum sweep Governor Romney into the White House?

Can Tom Smith leave Bob Casey in the coal dust?

Do PA voters voters make history by electing Kathleen Kane as the first
woman Attorney General or continue the Republican streak by going for
David Freed?

Please vote on the left sidebar and tell us your predictions in the comments.

I’m fit to be
tied like a cow to the slaughter over the way the stupid liberal weather
forecasters are trying to scare everybody over the coming hurricane!!!
And even worse, the dumbbells all fall for it!!!!!!! I guess now my
weekend trip
to Wal-Mart and the grocery store will be ruined because all the namby
pamby commie heathens will be out hoarding flashlights, candles, and
every other damned thing under the sun. Then I’ll have to wait in line
for an hour or a half hour at best just to check
out my few things!!!! And don’t tell me to go to the ten items or less
line because the stupid morons always line up in that aisle with
thirty!!! DAMN!!!!!!

Back in my day we had hurricanes too, but we didn’t
get all upset about them!!!! Hell, we wouldn’t even know if one was
arriving, let alone a snowstorm because we didn’t have 24/7 weather on
the radio (no TV back then---thank the Lord).
You woke the hell up, got out of bed and looked out the window. That
was the weather forecast!!!! If it was raining you wore your rubbers,
if it was snowing you put on your trusty stocking cap and if it was
sunny you enjoyed it! It was never sunny, at
least as far as I can remember.

I remember my old man during a hurricane back in the
good ol’ 30’s. He sent me out to Joe the Butcher’s corner pickup to
buy a sixer of Ballantine. Good ol’ Ballantine, I don’t think they make
that anymore. Anyways, I was a little runt
and made it a point to be seen and not heard as Pops wanted it. I
remember he told Mom to go to the ice box and get him a bottle after
returning from a rough day at the breaker. She told him that it was all
gone since he had brought the boys home the night
before for an surprise evening of poker. Well, good ol’ Pops flipped
telling Mom that as lady of the house it was her place to see that all
his needs were met since he spent all day doing actual work. I still
can recall the whistling wind outside the house
and the shaking of the windows and rafters. The lights were flickering
off and on but Pops needs came first.

“Hey, dunce (Pops always had a nickname for each of us kids) take this
fifty cent piece and get yourself down to Joe’s for a six pack, and I
want it yesterday!” He then proceeded to put the half buck coin in the
palm of my hand and cracked me across the face
with the palm of his hand. Because he knew the importance of
discipline, something the spoiled brats of today don’t get. So, I put
on my coat and hat and tread down the road to Joe’s. I can still recall
the stinging rain hitting my face and taste the small
bit of blood that had seeped into my mouth from my whacking a few
minutes before. A huge gust of wind hit me and pretty much lifted me
from the ground and down onto my kister. It was then that I realized
that the fifty cent piece flew out of my hand and damned
if I could find it. I looked all over but what with the darkness the
rain and the heavy wind, I couldn’t see it. It was then that I did a
reverse trek on home and knew what was waiting for me. When I opened
the door Pops heard my voice from inside the kitchen.
“Wow, the twerp really was fast tonight!! Maybe we should have a darn
hurricane every day!!!”

Of
course, then Pops walks into the kitchen and sees none of his beloved
Ballantine. “Where the hell’s my beer, runt!!?? What did you spend
that half buck on candy again???!!!?” I then began to tell him of the
heavy wind that threw me
and how I lost the coin but I didn’t get a chance to even finish my
words. He proceeded to place a shiner the size of a silver dollar on my
left eye and then place a similar one on my right eye for good measure
(to be fair, the one on my right eye was probably
the size of a quarter). Calling me every vile name in the book he
kicked my down the basement steps and threw me in the coal chute where I
was told I was to spend the night. Lying amongst a pile of Anthracite
feeling the wind seeping through the basement
windows onto my body I felt like hell. MY eyes were now beginning to
swell to a point where I could barely see; my throat became dry from
breathing in the ash and lack of water; my back and legs were throbbing
as a result of multiple kicks on my trip to the
chute. It was agonizing, degrading, frightening……almost inhumane……and I
loved it!!!!!!!! Because I learned a very simple lesson that night.
When your old man gives you money to buy beer, put the damn money in
your pocket and not in your stupid hand especially
if there’s a hurricane going on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every time
hurricane season arrives I think of good ol’ Pops. He was one of a
kind….when they made him they broke the mold. I miss him a lot.

So, when all you prissy liberals start crying and
shaking about the upcoming hurricane remember that you ain’t got it so
bad. I’m sure you’ll be in the corner shaking in your thousand dollar
designer shoes---not Praying because most of
you are so full of ego that you don’t even acknowledge our Lord Jesus
Christ.

As for me, I’ll be sitting in my trusty recliner,
lighting a lucky, swilling a Steg (Gold Medal) and listening to the late
great Lena Horne singing Stormy Weather on the ol’ Victrola.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

It's a tradition on Gort42 to put up some polls on the sidebar the week before the election. The question is who do you think will win the election not who you are voting for. I'll have my predictions next weekend. I put up 3 races to start it off and will list more over the next few days.

We start off with the national and statewide elections.

Will President Obama be reelected or will mittmentum sweep Governor Romney into the White House?

Can Tom Smith leave Bob Casey in the coal dust?

Do PA voters voters make history by electing Kathleen Kane as the first woman Attorney General or continue the Republican streak by going for David Freed?

Please vote on the left sidebar and tell us your predictions in the comments.

State Rep Jerry Mullery (D) asked if Rick Arnold (R) can’t pay his property taxes, how can voters elect him to represent them in Harrisburg?

Arnold is behind on the taxes on 3 properties he owns totaling $16,579 according to the TL. They are not up for Sheriff's sale and he made a payment plan. He blames it on the bad economy and reassessment. I hear him on reassessment since my property taxes tripled on our home and rental properties. His home building business is down after the Republicans crashed the economy impacting his business and cash flow.

“Many of (Mullery’s) constituents are having the same problems,” he
said. “I’m a constituent too. Why isn’t he concerned about me? Instead
he attacks me.”

Mullery gave a condescending answer.

Mullery said Arnold has never contacted his office for help, noting
that he has answered many requests for assistance from constituents in
similar circumstances to Arnold, referring them to financial planning agencies that could help individuals reassess their spending habits or assist in mortgage refinancing.

Arnold has a radio spot airing on WILK that I haven't heard and is not available on his website, FB, etc.

For too long, homeowners in Luzerne County and across Pennsylvania have been burdened with crushing property taxes.

Seniors on fixed incomes find themselves in the difficult position
of losing their homes because they can no longer afford their property taxes.
Small business owners, who already are struggling in a weak economy,
find themselves struggling to pay their mortgages and bills, let alone
expand and grow.

Over the years, usually in an election year, politicians in
Harrisburg have promised relief. The passage of gambling in the
commonwealth was the last broken promise, when lawmakers failed to
dedicate 100 percent of the revenue generated toward real property tax relief.

As a small business owner who builds homes, I know how difficult it
is to afford high property taxes. Like many people, I struggle every
year to pay my property tax bills.
While my family and I always have managed to meet those obligations,
sometimes paying penalties, there are many people who unfortunately
continue to lose their homes.

We need someone in office who will side with our interests, not “special interests.”

That’s why I’m running for state representative in the 119th
District. I am a real blue-collar worker who understands and has
struggled the same way many residents in the district have. I promise to
do everything in my power to eliminate sky-rocketing property taxes and
finally give back control to local taxpayers.

Police investigated a man banging on a house door on Mill Street at
about 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Thomas was confronted on the porch and yelled a
racial slur at the officer.
Thomas allegedly threw a spider at the officer and spat in the officer's face, the complaint says.
Police allege in the complaint Thomas resisted arrest and had to be
stunned several times by a Taser. Several officers were needed to
handcuff Thomas.
Thomas continued to struggle with officers kicking at paramedics and
officers at Pittston Police Headquarters, according to the complaint.

Lyrics:and there is nothing i can do
when i realize with fright
that the spiderman is having me for dinner tonight!

Friday, October 26, 2012

Today we released our latest campaign ad and I wanted to make sure you saw it. It’s called “In Our Corner” and you can watch it here.It highlights my record of fighting for Pennsylvanians, whether it’s
their jobs, their Medicare benefits, or their safety. It’s a record I’m
proud of and I hope you are too.

It shows a boxing ring and says he is fighting for Pennsylvania seniors. I am the only one sick of the boxing metaphors and the "fighting for us" tag line from politicians on both sides. An election is about who will govern not who can win a brawl in the schoolyard.

I'm sure you will be shocked that he says he is against illegal immigration. Then he takes a shot at Gene Stilp saying "He’s fighting for a radical agenda." That tells you Lou is worried about Gene. Barletta attacks his opponent in his first TV spot when the Captains Obvious college professors think he is lock for reelection. There has not been any public polling in this race but it just might be the surprise of election night.

Stilp responds with his usual good humor.

From the inbox:

Today,
11th Congressional District Candidate and Democratic Nominee, Gene
Stilp, unveiled a campaign advertisement which recounts the difficult
fights he has taken on in the past, under intense heat and pressure to
do otherwise, and states that he is not afraid of doing the right thing
in Congress, no matter how hot it gets.

The
unique 30 second ad cites the longtime activist's prior fights against
the 2005 illegal legislative payraise and perpetrators of government
waste, fraud and abuse in state government and states that Mr. Stilp can
take on "the firestorm of corruption in Washington".

Additionally
it cites the misleading comments from his opponent, Congressman Lou
Barletta's recent ad. It states that Mr. Stilp wants to cut over $700
million from Medicare.

In
addressing the false claim, Mr. Stilp said, "Mr. Barletta's ad is
completely false. It's Congressman Barletta that wants to cut Medicare,
as he voted for the Ryan Budget, which would turn Medicare into a
voucher program and would harm our seniors. Mr. Barletta has taken
hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and corporations to run
this false and misleading ad. That is what is wrong with Washington and
is why I am running. As you can see in this ad, I am uniquely equipped
to take on this fight."

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Shawn Kelly was candidate Lou Barletta's spokesperson in the 2010 election campaign and was given a staff job as Congressman Lou Barletta's spox on official business after the election.

I like Shawn and he has always been great about answering my questions in the election in 2010 and since then. I asked him a political question a few months ago and he referred me to the campaign for an answer. He explained that he is now a pointy headed bureaucrat that couldn't comment on the reelection effort.

So I was shocked when I read this

DANVILLE - The absence of Congressman Lou Barletta at a campaign event
Tuesday night rankled his election opponent, Gene Stilp, and lead to
unanticipated debate over the event's format.
The candidates for the 11th Congressional District were expected to
debate each other at the American Legion during a Candidates Night
hosted by the Danville Area League of Voters.
Instead, it was Stilp and a congressional aide trading barbs.

Stilp attacked Barletta for skipping the event, while Shawn Kelly,
Barletta's communications director, said the congressman was simply
keeping a prior commitment....Kelly took a long pause and followed with an explanation that, as a
employee of his congressional office and not his campaign, he did not
know what event Barletta was attending Tuesday.
He did, however, say that "He committed to an event over two months ago and he's keeping that commitment.

There’s just one problem: staffer, Shawn Kelly, doesn’t work for
Congressman Barletta’s campaign, but is actually his Legislative
Communications Director, who draws a taxpayer salary. If Kelly in any way charged the taxpayers by using resources issued to him by the United States Congress, that is really bad news
for Barletta–especially considering the fact that Gene Stilp is
responsible for bringing down this type of behavior in Harrisburg.

KP points to this part of Ethics Committee rules: It is permissible for House employees to do campaign work, but only
outside of congressional space, without the use of any House resources,
and on their own time (as opposed to “official” time for which they are
compensated by the House). Accordingly, any House employee who does
campaign work must ensure that the work – including any telephone
conversations or other communications concerning campaign business – is
performed strictly in compliance with these limitations.

Edit: Executive branch personnel are subject to restrictions on partisan
political activity by the Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. § 7321 et seq.), but those restrictions do not apply to congressional employees

Thanks Yuri and McG

It’s
still completely unethical. He doesn’t know where Barletta is, because
he’s not part of the campaign, but he’s debating at a campaign event.
Total BS.

Update: You know I try to be Fair and Balanced. Barletta's campaign manager Lance Stange responds

Gort,

Thank
you for correcting some of Mr. Stilp’s bogus claims. Since they were
corrected, I won’t go into them but I would like to ask that you correct
another:

The
event in question was not a debate. We have agreed to the same number
of debates as President Obama and Governor Romney. This has been widely
reported throughout the district. One was at Wilkes University under
the sponsorship of the Times Leader; another was in Dauphin County under
the sponsorship of WHP580 News Radio which covers Dauphin, Cumberland
and Perry counties; the third will be on WVIA in a week to cover the
six northern counties – Carbon, Columbia, Luzerne, Montour,
Northumberland, and Wyoming Counties.

If
Mr. Stilp received the same letter we did inviting us to participate,
he is also aware that it was not a debate. The League doesn’t even
describe it as a debate and, as a matter of fact, they clearly
identified the event as the “Danville Area League of Voters Candidates
Night” in the invitation letter.

About
two months ago, Congressman Barletta agreed to participate in the
Dauphin/Cumberland Fall Dinner. Invitations that were sent out and the
event was publicized shortly after that. Less than two weeks ago, the
campaign received a formal invitation to participate in the Danville
Area League of Voters Candidates Night. At that time, we indicated that
we had a scheduling conflict. The League understood but didn’t want to
reschedule the event. Instead, the League suggested that we send a
surrogate so that’s what we did.

Mr.
Stilp’s attack on the League suggesting they changed the rules at the
last minute is also untrue. The League determined the rules and
notified us of them, in writing, on October 15.

Instead
of making false charges and impugning the character of the League, Mr.
Stilp should be explaining his plan for “the long run” to “get this
country out of its fiscal dilemma” – something he said he would do over
six months ago.

Tuesday’s political debate
between Aaron Kaufer and Phyllis Mundy came with a good crowd at Wyoming
Seminary in Kingston. The topics of the debate ranged from property taxes to
natural gas drilling. All of these were extremely important to the 120th
Dristrict…but the most important question was only asked at the end by
candidate Kaufer. “Why did we have no discussion about jobs?” he said during
his closing statement.

During the debate, there were no questions asked(or read
by the moderator) asking what we are to do about the high unemployment. Now, I
don’t live in the 120th District, but I do work there for the West
Pittston Ambulance every weekend. Whenever we go out on calls I see a lot of
houses with “For Sale” signs(not just in the flood zone), and I wonder why it
is so bad that people have to leave, and our representatives aren’t paying
attention to it.

One of the problems is the high property taxes. Families
were promised relief when the casino was built, but most saw none. Rep. Mundy
said that she fought to get property tax relief, and said that she would sign a
bill eliminating them if it was brought to her on the house floor. Aaron Kaufer
fired back saying that it was bad practice to just wait for a bill to be
brought to her. He said that she should’ve been reaching across the aisle to
help get that bill written and brought to a vote. I can’t help but agree!

Other questions asked during the debate involved gun
control(why?), the Voter ID law, and the UGI Compressor Station is West
Wyoming. Strangely enough, Phyllis and Aaron were both in a general agreement
on these issues(except for gun control). One of the first things I ever learned
about debating is to never EVER say “I agree” with your opponent no matter
what. Always find something to pick apart no matter how small or insignificant
it is.

One of the other topics of agreement was the Natural gas
drilling in NEPA. We are the only state without a severance tax on gas
drilling, and both candidates support one. But I think Rep. Mundy must have
bumped into President Obama on the way to this debate and stolen some of his
cue cards, because I heard “fair share” about ten times.

Even though I’m not a resident of the 120th
District, I will definitely be paying attention to the race because it has some
big effects on everyone living in Northeast Pennsylvania. Best of luck and
thanks to both of the candidates for coming to my political forum at Penn State
Wilkes-Barre.

I just viewed the video and few things stood out. Aaron Kaufer had command of the issues and admitted that he didn't know enough about some obscure bill to comment on it. Phyllis Mundy kept attacking Governor Tom Corbet and the Republican State Senate and tied them to Grover Norquist. Kaufer kept saying he would work for Bipartisan solutions. On the severance tax and environmental safeguards Mundy asked "Is he going to be the only one over there who votes to do those things?" Kaufer landed a punch on pensions after Mundy said she voted against increases but took it anyway. Mundy didn't commit any unforced errors but Kaufer had a few questionable statements. On the assault weapons ban Kaufer said the Holocaust would not have happened if Jews had guns. He really screwed up saying "We don't need old politicians." The audience booed. At the end he said his background was in US/Chinese economics. ???

The LionPAC of Penn State Wilkes-Barre will be hosting Rep. Phyllis Mundy and Candidate Aaron Kaufer for a political forum. The forum will be held on the last two fridays of the month (Aaron Kaufer spoke on Oct. 19th, Rep. Mundy will speak on Oct. 26th).

The candidates will give a brief presentation of their campaign to Penn State students, faculty and members of the public. This will be followed by a short Q&A session. Aaron Kaufer will be speaking in Academic Commons Room 103(Bierly Auditorium), and Rep. Mundy wil speak in Hayfield House Room 105. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact John Lombardo at jfl5128@psu.edu.

Rep
Phyllis Mundy and Matt Cartwright will hold a joint rally on October 30
at 6pm in West Wyoming Hose Co #1 Shoemaker Ave. Food and beverages
will be served. The event is free and everyone is welcome!

Aaron Kaufer, Republican candidate for state representative in the 120th
District, will hold a meet-and-greet from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30,
at Marianacci's restaurant, 252 W. Eighth St., West Wyoming. There will
be free pizza and soda.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Local libraries are under great financial pressure these days seeing their government funding repeatedly cut. This should be a good time for a good cause. I understand that Shawn Klush realy nails the King.

From the inbox:

PITTSTON (10-12-12) – The Pittston Memorial Library Board and
Capital Campaign Committee have announced that tickets are now on sale for “Shawn
Klush, the World’s Greatest Elvis.” The show will be presented on
November 24, 2012 at 8 p.m. at the F.M. Kirby Center. Tickets are $75 (VIP),
$45 and $35 and can be purchased at the Pittston Memorial Library, Kirby Box
Office or through Ticketmaster.

Born
and raised in Pittston, Shawn has been designated the “First Ever Ultimate
Elvis Tribute Artist” by Elvis Presley Enterprises. He has also been named “The
World’s Greatest Elvis” following a vote of 6.5 million international viewers
on BBC1 Television in the United Kingdom.

Also appearing with Shawn at his
performance at the Kirby will be special guests, The Sweet Inspirations, who
performed for years as backup singers for the King himself.

Those purchasing $75 VIP tickets will be
provided with choice seating and access to a pre-show “Meet and Greet” that
will include appetizers, complimentary drink and photo/autograph opportunity
with Shawn. The “Meet and Greet” will begin at 6:30 p.m. and go to 7:30 p.m.

To purchase
tickets from the Pittston Memorial Library, call 654-9565 X 25. The F.M. Kirby
Center Box Office can be reached by calling 823-4599 or e-mail Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com. Payment can be made by check, money order,
or credit card.

Library Board Member Marla Pupa is serving
as event chair.

All proceeds of the event will go to
benefit the Cosgrove Capital Campaign for library expansion. The library plans
to add a 5,175 square foot addition to the current facility at 47 Broad St. in
downtown Pittston. The new addition will include a community/conference room
large enough for 100 people and furnished with Smartboard, WiFi and
teleconferencing capabilities. The new community/conference room will also
serve as a home to the Intergenerational Family Center, an all-inclusive
program designed to provide support and services to grandparents who are
raising their grandchildren. The program will be open to all residents of
Luzerne County.

The library addition will also provide a
larger children’s section, arts and crafts room; teen, senior and veterans
space; entrance, vestibule and other amenities.

Sponsorships for “Shawn Klush, the World’s
Greatest Elvis” are available as well as space for ads in the show’s
Program Book. For additional information on sponsorships, ads and ticket
specials, call Carol Crane at 654-9565 X 25.